Artist Douglas Coupland Is Hunting for Vincent Van Gogh Look-Alikes

Novelist and artist Douglas Coupland recently launched an ongoing project called “I am Vincent,” which is part of a series dedicated to celebrating the world’s ginger-haired population. And for his latest venture, he’s looking for someone who bears more than a passing resemblance to Vincent Van Gogh.

“The person who I think best resembles Van Gogh will be given €5,000 and will be flown with a guest to Vancouver for a unique experience…” Coupland explained in a statement on his website. He continued: “Their facial data will become Vincent van Gogh’s likeness on the final sculpture, forever immortalizing them in bronze and on a plaque bearing their name.”

One wonders, however: Why redheads?

“I’d like it to trigger discussion about new relationships between science, art and globalization,” Coupland writes. The artist claims that redheads connote evolution’s “most recent successful human mutation.”

FUN ALERT! Are you a redheaded guy with a beard, or know one? DM me about a 5000 Euro model search launching soon! pic.twitter.com/KjMnGc9OAV

While his quest may seem curious, Coupland is always wrestling with technological concerns, as well as the emergence of “selfie” culture; he even anticipated the rise of 3D versions in 2014. In the same year, Coupland erected a seven-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture of his own face.

Interested participants are invited to upload their images directly to Coupland’s site or post images of themselves on social media with the hashtag #IAmVincent.